Press Releases
Signing and Exchanging of Notes for Official Security Assistance (OSA) FY2025 Project to the Kingdom of Tonga
On December 5, in Nuku’alofa, the kingdom of Tonga, H.E. INAGAKI Hisao, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Tonga, and His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Tupouto’a 'Ulukalala, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Tonga, signed and exchanged notes for 300 million yen for the Japanese FY2025 “Official Security Assistance (OSA)”.
- The Kingdom of Tonga is located at a geopolitically important point where the vertical sea lane connecting Japan, Australia and New Zealand intersects with the horizontal sea lane that runs from the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Building on the longstanding friendship between the Imperial Family of Japan and the Royal Family of Tonga as the cornerstone of friendly relations, Japan and Tonga are working to deepen the bilateral relationship and cooperation through frameworks such as the "Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM)."
- This project provides His Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF) with UAVs for monitoring, surveillance, and disaster relief as well as military uniforms, which His Majesty King Tupou VI of Tonga engaged in designing. The project is expected to enhance the Tonga’s surveillance and disaster response capabilities and to reinforce HMAF's members’ identity and boost their morale.
- This project is of great importance in contributing to enhancing security capabilities of Tonga and maintaining and strengthening regional stability, as well as reinforcing security relations between Japan and Tonga.
(Reference) Official Security Assistance (OSA)
OSA is a grant aid cooperation framework which provides equipment and supplies as well as assistance for the development of infrastructures to armed forces and other related organizations of recipient countries. By enhancing their security and deterrence capabilities, OSA aims to strengthen our security cooperation with the recipient countries, to create a desirable security environment for Japan, and to contribute to maintaining and strengthening international peace and security.